Race, Family and the Trump Era

Never Miss A Story.

Daily Edition

Streamys Honor Best of Web Series

Technical difficulties plagued the second annual Streamy Awards on Sunday night, ironic for a ceremony that honors the best in web TV series.

Technical difficulties plagued the second annual Streamy Awards on Sunday night, somewhat fitting for a ceremony that honors web series.

About halfway through the event, a prerecorded segment called "How to Get a Streamy Nomination" froze and had to be aborted, and the ceremony never fully got back on track.

Paul Scheer (Getty)

Comedian Paul Scheer, who hosted, put on his gap-toothed game face, however, and milked the ongoing situation for laughs, as did many of the presenters and winners. Immediately after the video stalled, Scheer took to the stage and assured everyone, "Don't worry, this is not being televised"; a few minutes later, after two male streakers ran laps around the podium, Scheer said, "We have just solidified that this will never be on TV."

Online, 750,000 people were expected to watch the live stream of the event, held at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles, and several in-show commercials reminded fans to vote for the audience choice award, which went to "Agents of Cracked" and wrapped up the three-hour ceremony.

The comedy "Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis," a FunnyOrDie interview series featuring the in-demand comedian, and drama "The Bannen Way," an action series about a gambler/con man that appears on Sony's Crackle.com, were the top web series winners as voted on by the International Academy of Web Television, whose membership comprises 22 peer groups of specialized fields.

"The Bannen Way" star Mark Gantt and "Anyone but Me's" Rachael Hip-Flores took home the awards for best drama actor and actress. Best ensemble went to the cast of the Ikea-branded comedy series "Easy to Assemble," which stars Illeana Douglas as herself -- after quitting acting and becoming an employee at the furniture retailer.

"The Guild" star Felicia Day, among the most well-known champions of web television, won the award for best female actor in a comedy web series. She dedicated her trophy to "every geek girl," and said that her fellow nominees are women who may have struck out finding a role in the mainstream but are making it happen for themselves. "I say, 'Go get it for yourself because nobody's stopping you,' " she said.

Galifianakis, who was not present but had amusing/confusing stand-ins, won for best actor in a comedy web series. When Galifianakis' series got the comedy nod, the first person to speak while accepting the award was a guy who wandered away from the podium in midsentence, followed by the rest of the "Two Ferns" group. A caught-off-guard Scheer quipped that he just pops up onstage when nothing else seems to be happening.

Scheer and company had to stay on their toes during miscued video clips, a failed attempt to bring out the craft award winners and a bizarre incident in which two men stormed the stage and got frisky with two presenters. One of the two presenters, comedian Chris Hardwick, yelled into the mic that it was not a planned bit and launched into a tirade about the evening. Scheer also cracked, "This is good practice because next week I'm hosting the Train Wreck Awards."

Highlights of the ceremony included a sung acceptance "speech" by the gang from "Auto-Tune the News," which won for best news or political web series. Kevin Pollak, who was up for best web series host but lost to "Epic Fu's" Zadi Diaz, got a huge laugh while presenting the guest actor award (which went to "Weird Al" Yankovic for "Know Your Meme"). "In L.A., being asked by a friend to be in their web series is the new jury duty," Pollak said.

Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO of YouTube, was selected for the inaugural Streamy Visionary Award. Accepting the honor, Hurley thanked the everyday people who post videos on the site. "A lot of industries and companies want to claim a reason for the success, but (the reason is) your creativity, passion and willingness to share your experiences with the world. Thank you, YouTube community," he said.

Hurley was among the attendees wearing a white ribbon in support of net neutrality. Several winners also mentioned the issue of net neutrality, which suffered a setback last week when Comcast won a court battle against the FCC.

Recognizing the best in web series from around the world, the Streamys received more than 100,000 entries for awards in 35 categories, up from 25 categories in 2009. Awards in the crafts and other categories were handed out Thursday at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in Hollywood. Click here for the winners.

A complete list of those recognized at Sunday's Streamy Awards follows (winners in bold):

Best comedy web seriesBetween Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis
Easy to Assemble
The Guild
The Legend of Neil
Wainy Days

Best drama web series
Angel of Death
Compulsions
OzGirlThe Bannen Way
Valemont

Best hosted web series
A Comicbook OrangeDiggnation
Kevin Pollak's Chat Show
Know Your Meme
The Totally Rad Show

Best news or politics web seriesAuto-Tune the News
Rocketboom
The Tomorrow Show with Mo Rocca
The Young Turks
VBS News